


Feeling the Warmth

by ToneT



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-12-03 18:33:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11538048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToneT/pseuds/ToneT
Summary: Universe background: Everyone has a patch of skin on their forearm that changes sometime between the age of 17-25. It goes cold and dead until that person is within touching distance of their soulmate, when it will come alive. The feeling of warmth and life returning to the skin is unmistakable and signifies the beginning of the soulmates' life together.





	Feeling the Warmth

Universe background: Everyone has a patch of skin on their forearm that changes sometime between the age of 17-25. It goes cold and dead until that person is within touching distance of their soulmate, when it will come alive. The feeling of warmth and life returning to the skin is unmistakable and signifies the beginning of the soulmates' life together.

People carry on relationships with those that aren’t their soulmate and even have kids, but it’s always known that if one were to find their mate, their is no fighting the bond. If a person’s soulmate dies, their patch will warm again, but go hard like scar tissue and some people experience phantom aches.

In vary rare cases people who have lost their soulmate will develop a second ‘soul patch’.

***

“I’m just saying it’s a stupid name, is all.” Danny waved his hands in the air in front of him to emphasize his point. They were walking down the street outside of the movie theatre after their Friday night movie date. “Feeling Warmth. Uck. You know I hope that Grace never gets sucked into all these sappy love stories that make out soulmates to be so much better than regular relationships.”

“Some would say that we are the ones that are irregular, Daniel.” Rachel gave her husband an amused smile. She loved the way her Danny could so easily dismiss the typical fairytale romance of soul bonds. At twenty-nine years old her mark had been active for twelve years and had never showed any signs of coming to life, just as Danny’s had remained lifeless for the past ten years. Of course, in the back of her mind she longed to feel the warmth herself, but knowing that her husband placed so little stock in the idea made her feel so very loved. She’d come to terms with her patch years ago and was so much more than just content with her life.

Their relationship was a rare one. While people often had relationships and even had kids with those that were not their soulmate, it was almost unheard of for two people to marry when they weren’t soul bonded. Daniel’s mother had wept tears of sorrow at their wedding, trying hard to pass them off as joy, but Daniel had stood proud at the alter and had looked at Rachel with the same love as any soulmate would look at their other half.

Many people had tried to tell them over the years that what they felt for each other was a pale imitation of bond love, but Rachel and Danny couldn’t quite believe them. Especially when they welcomed their beautiful baby girl into the world six years ago. Grace’s perfection had to be proof that their love was meant to be.

“I’m just saying, I don’t want our girl to grow up thinking that non-bonded love isn’t real love. I’d hate to think she’ll be one of those people who put their life on hold to wander about the place in hope that they’ll find some illusive idea of what true happiness,” Danny used air quotes to show his distain for the words, “really is.”

“I know and I love you for it.” Rachel leaned up to give him a peck on the cheek. “Now come on, let’s go by that little Italian place on the way home. We can get canollis.”

They walked down the narrow sidewalk, Rachel’s arm around Danny’s waist and his around her shoulders, pulling her body closer to him. Together the wound through the streets towards Papa Marchello’s, a quaint little family run cafe that stayed open late on Friday and Saturday nights for all the couples that would spend hours chatting over cups of coffee or glasses of bubbling bellinis while they munched their way through the selections offered in the pastry cabinet.

The neighborhood was an old one. Sure it was a little run down, but how else could a cop and a book editor afford to live there? Luckily over the past few years developers had started buying up the derelict buildings and transforming shady gang areas into thriving communities with slick new townhouses and trendy businesses. Even the crime rate had dropped a little as more families moved in and the general tone of the neighborhood was brought up.

Even now, a block away from Papa M’s, there was a swanky new shopping strip being put in. Danny could see the lights still on in the container office that was resting just off the sidewalk for the duration of the build. Danny and Rachel walked leaning into to each other, making their path more of a wobbling zigzag than a straight line They laughed and mused over how much fun they’ll have taking Grace to the ice-cream parlor that was set to open in the complex. Danny had watched Home Alone 2: Lost in New York with her last weekend and her eyes had been as big as saucers when that annoying little brat had ordered the sundae bar from room service. Danny had decided in that moment that Grace would get her very own super sundae instead of a cake for her next birthday. He could picture it now, his two favorite girls grinning and digging into whipped cream covered creations as he snapped pictures for the family album and complained that it was too cold to eat ice-cream in mid-November.

As they were passing the building site the door to the office popped open towards them, making the two of them jump out of the way as men in business suits streamed out.

“Oh, god, sorry!” Said the first one out when he realised what he’d done. He lifted his arm to place on Danny’s shoulder as he asked, “Are you alright there buddy?”

“Yeah, yeah. We’re fine man.” Danny replied, but as he said it he could see that the man’s eyes were glazed over and he wasn’t listening. Then he heard Rachel’s soft intake of breath as she gasped next to him.

Danny turned to look at his wife. Rachel had removed her arm from around his waist and was staring at it like it wasn’t even part of her. And right there, in front of his eyes, he saw the patch of cold, dead skin on her forearm suddenly change colour.

***

“His name’s Stan.” Danny told the kindly old lady in the plane seat next to him. “He’s not a bad guy, really. But you know, I...I kinda want to punch him in the face for taking it all away from me. And of course he was just visiting New Jersey. Yeah, he lives all the way out in the middle of the ocean, in Hawaii. So now, not only does my wife not love me any more- when I, I still feel everything as it is being broken and crushed- but I also have to move away from my home and the job I loved wit NPD to move to some god forsaken rock just so I can see my daughter. A daughter who now believes in every sickly sweet soulmate love story and is after me to find my mate.” Danny slouched down in his seat and gestured for the flight attendant to bring him another Jack and Coke.

**************

I love soulmate AUs!

Couldn't resist writing this one, but as I got through the first paragraph it morphed from McDanno into a set up for Danny's move.

I don't know if I'm into it enough to write any more, so you might just have to imagine how that gun standoff would go if their soul patches warmed on them. I bet SEALs are trained to ignore that...I wonder how that goes?


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